To Ally, or Not to Ally…
By Anthony Cowden
July 14, 2022
The National Security Affairs (NSA) department at the U.S. Naval War College, being committed to the Socratic method of learning, would insist – at least when I was teaching there – that there was no “War College answer.”
There were still certain ideas or concepts that you hoped the students would absorb. One of the questions I liked to explore with my students was why countries enter into alliances with each other? At the risk of enraging my former department, let me provide you with the answer I hoped they arrived at…
Countries make alliances with other countries in order to increase their net national security – to increase their ability to defeat mutual military threats while not assuming too much additional risk.
Now, that seems fairly simple! You’d be surprised, therefore – or maybe you would not – how few policy makers actually understand this concept.
https://www.realcleardefense.com/articles/2022/07/14/to_ally_or_not_to_ally_842411.html
